let go!
As the story goes, a man was hiking alone when he slipped and fell down a steep cliff. In desperation, he grabbed a tree limb and began shouting for help. Finally, he heard a booming voice answer, “Yes, I’m here.” The hiker was elated. “Who are you?” “It’s the Lord.” “Oh, thank you, Lord!” the hiker gasped. “What do you want me to do?” “Let go.” The terrified hiker couldn’t release the only security he thought he had, so finally he meekly asked, “Is there anyone else up there?” Life is tough. Circumstances often seem unfair, and there are times when we feel close to death. It’s usually in the midst of these moments of desperation that God urges us to “let go” of our feeble solutions and trust Him. In 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, Paul shares an intimate account of the difficult time he had in Asia and of how he felt close to death. He also reminds his readers, however, that God is our source of comfort and that we can use our growth through trials to help others (2 Corinthians 1:3-6).
September 15, 2014
What recent difficult life experience brought you closer to God? How did He work through the situation to draw you closer?
clinging to hope
During the summer of 2011, Dave Mull spent nearly 4 hours adrift and alone in the rolling waves of Lake Michigan, clinging only to the handles of a Coleman cooler. The boat Dave had been fishing in had suddenly capsized and sank 5 miles offshore, forcing him and his three companions into the deep, troubled waters. Before Dave became separated from the others, he selflessly surrendered his life jacket to one of his friends who was struggling to hang on to the floating cooler.
finding joy in Jesus
We’ve all heard that God’s plans are more important than our own. And if you’re like me, you’ve nodded your head in agreement at the wisdom of those words. Yet when we encounter a situation in life where things don’t go according to our plans, we can often become devastated!
you choose Q: who are the Quakers?
Q: What do you know about the Quakers? Are they a cult? I do not know their beliefs. —Beverly
A: The Quakers, also known as “Friends,” are members of a Christian movement that began in England in the 1650s. The movement started as a response to the formalism and coldness of the church of that time. It is said that the movement…
August 18, 2014
How important is silence and solitude in your life? How do you practice them?
peace in a ravaged world
Amid the horrific stories of shootings in schools, the news in August 2013 of Antoinette Tuff’s heroism was a beautiful exception. Antoinette, on staff at an elementary school, confronted 20-year-old Michael Hill when he entered the school building carrying weapons, including an assault rifle. “I just started talking to him,” Tuff said, “and let him know what was going on with me and that it would be okay.” Remarkably, Hill laid down his weapons and surrendered. Accounts of Tuff’s courage swept across the newswires, but she resisted acclaim. “I give it all to God. I’m not the hero. I was terrified.”
one
Have you ever wanted to take a quick peek at someone else’s mail? Maybe it was an envelope from a doctor’s office that held the results of a family member’s recent medical tests. Or perhaps it was a letter addressed to your parents from an estranged family member. As you held the envelope in your hands, the temptation to open it might have felt overwhelming.
a bad rep
For centuries, the church has sometimes had the unfortunate reputation of bitter wrangling and vicious disagreement. There have been opposing denominations and those within the same denomination claiming to know the true interpretation of Scripture and its application to daily life. These days, many Christian leaders are calling for less division and greater humility as we practice our faith together.
extending grace
When I was growing up, my family often became frustrated because I would take whatever I wanted into my possession. If anything went missing, the invariable response was to “look in Gina’s room,” for I was sure to have nabbed it. In a just vindication of their frustrations, my hairbrush now shows up in my daughter’s room, my scissors can be found in my son’s art case, and my phone charger is in my husband’s possession as much as my own.
chaos monster
Ancient civilizations were terrified by the ocean. To them, the sea was a stormy, unpredictable place where swells swallowed up courageous sailors. So it’s not surprising that the religions of the Ancient Near East all contained accounts about how their god defeated the evil sea of chaos and its seven-headed monster—often portrayed as a dragon or serpent. Whether it was the Mesopotamian Marduk slaying Tiamat, goddess of the sea, or the Canaanite Baal cutting off the heads of the oceanic chaos monster, the ancients made a point of saying that their god had triumphed over evil.
changeless
She said to him, “I don’t want to try to fix our marriage. It’s over.” What had started with such high hopes and evident love was now a cold, lifeless thing. My friend desired to see renewal and restoration in their relationship, but his wife made it clear that the two of them had changed and that their marriage would soon end.
nothing in the water
In the 2012 issue of Foreign Policy magazine, columnist Micah Zenko wrote an article in an attempt to allay people’s fears of shark attacks. Zenko concluded that because of the movie Jaws, millions of people in the US unnecessarily panic when they hear that a shark might be near the area where they’re swimming.
